There were 3.2 million people recorded as not having a job in the June quarter of 2023, with “caring for children” listed as a significant hurdle for women accessing work.
The latest findings from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal key reasons that are keeping people out of work, and for preventing them from wanting to pursue a job.
The gender differences behind these reasons are stark.
Of those 3.2 million people aged 18 and over who did not have a job in the June 2023 quarter, 1.2 million did want a paid job, while 1.9 million did not want a job.
Fifty nine per cent of women aged 25 to 39 noted that the main reason was not wanting a job was “caring for children”, along with 31 per cent of women aged 40 to 54.
This was a significant uptick on what was reported in the previous March 2023 quarter, with 48 per cent of those aged 25 to 39 citing “caring for children” as their main reason for not wanting to work.
For men aged 25 to 39, the main reason cited was “long-term sickness or disability”, accounting for 61 per cent of men.
Interestingly, when it comes to the 1.2 million people who did want a paid job in the June quarter, 25 per cent of them were unable to take up a role within four weeks — with one in five women (21 per cent) stating that the main hindrance was “caring for children”.
The ABS also looked at some of the most important incentives to encourage people who didn’t have a job to encourage them into the workforce. For women aged 25 to 39, it found access to childcare and flexible work as key incentives.
While ‘finding a job that matches skills and experience’ came up the highest listed key job incentive, by 49 per cent of women who do not have a job, it was followed closely behind by ‘access to childcare’ (47 per cent), an ‘ability to vary start or finish times (47 per cent) and ‘financial assistance with childcare costs’ (46 per cent).
These results indicate thousands of women are finding their current care circumstances are making it difficult to get a job. While we don’t have a further breakdown to indicate if it’s young children and accessing childcare that is getting in the way, or perhaps difficulty accessing work that can be done around school hours or supporting older children, these results do show opportunities for policymakers and employers to do more to support this cohort of women.
These figures also only consider those who currently do not have a job. There are then other cohorts of the population to consider when it comes to how challenges accessing childcare and flexibility is preventing them from picking up more work hours, an extra day or work, or potentially promotion or other opportunities.
This being National Carers Weeks, it’s also important to consider those with care commitments who fall outside of the “care for kids” bracket. An estimated 2.8 million carers in Australia support loved ones who are sick, have a disability, are ageing or need care for other needs. The majority of these carers are women and they cross all age demographics. As recent research by Carers Australia found, the majority of these carers also take on the role unexpectedly and suddenly, and they didn’t have a choice about whether or not they would take it on.
There is clearly a large and untapped workforce available in women who cite caring responsibilities as a major factor in limiting their availability and desire to get a job. Currently, and even with the recent childcare package and minor amendments to Commonwealth-funded paid parental leave, the care support infrastructure available is not strong or accessible enough to significantly change these numbers.